More than 13.2 percent of netizens under the age of 18 suffer from Internet addiction, said a report issued by the China National Children's Center Friday.

Internet addiction is particularly prominent among junior middle school and vocational middle school students, the report on Chinese children's life and development said.

Over 17 percent of 13 to 17 years old netizens are hooked on the Internet, especially online gaming.

The report did not provide details on what constitutes an Internet addict.

Official statistics show that China's netizens reached 123 million by the end of the first half of this year, and 18.3 million were under the age of 18, accounting for 14.9 percent of the total.

The young people's failure to control themselves, lack of effective official measures to manage Internet cafes and proper school guidance on the use of the Internet are blamed for contributing to the problem.

The report called on the government to evaluate and classify online games, improve management over Internet cafes and set up more hotlines to assist the young Internet addicts.

(Xinhua News Agency December 9, 2006)